| | 22 | Author: | Wyck Association | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Wyck Association Collection
| | | | Dates: | 1663-1972 | | | | Abstract: | The Wyck Collection is a massive collection that touches upon a number of early American themes. MOLE contains an extensive inventory of the collection. There are also binders with the collection that contain item level descriptions of the contents. The collection is particularly notable for its family correspondence, business records, and information on the operations of some Philadelphia institutions, such as the Academy of Natural Sciences.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.Ms.Coll.52 | | | | Extent: | 151.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Business and Skilled Trades | Early National Politics | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Science and technology | Trade | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | Institutional Records | Miscellaneous | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Agriculture | Culture, community, organizations | Home economics -- United States -- Accounting | Horticulture | Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Social life and customs | Quakers | Race, race relations, racism | Reconstruction | Religion, religious organizations | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Social problems. | |
| 30 | Author: | Smith Family | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Smith-Houston-Morris-Ogden Family papers, 1659-1985
| | | | Dates: | 1659-1985 | | | | Abstract: | The Smith-Houston-Morris-Ogden Collection is the APS's largest collection. It has a vast array of materials from early America. The APS has on file a 303-page survey of the collection that scholars may want to consult before beginning their research. In general, the collection contains information on business, politics, family and social life, Philadelphia history, land expansion, and estates. A good part Morris portion of the collection comes from Governeur Morris and his wife. The bulk of this material begins with his time as an emissary to France during the early republic and continues to his death. There is also a fairly extensive collection of his wife's correspondence, most of which follows Governeur's death. Her letters touch on issues relating to his estate and to other affairs. It includes discussions of slavery in Virginia and contains correspondence from memebers of the extended Jefferson family. The Ogden's were surveyors and land speculators in the late colonial and early national period. This portion of the collection contains discussion of land, business, politics, and family matters. A significant amount of these papers focus on the operations of a grist mill in New York. There are papers from numerous other prominent families, such as the Clemsons, Morgans, and Lewises, who were related through marriage.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.Ms.Coll.76 | | | | Extent: | 350 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Business and Skilled Trades | Colony and State Specific History | Diplomatic History | Early National Politics | International Affairs | Land and Speculation | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Surveying and Maps | Trade | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | Miscellaneous | Political Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Land speculation | |
| 34 | Author: | Wistar family. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Eastwick Collection, 1746-1929
| | | | Dates: | 1746-1929 | | | | Abstract: | This large and rich collection contains a range of documents including travel journals, diaries, business records, and personal correspondence. The largest portion of the collection is of correspondence among members of the extended Wister family and their network of friends in the early nineteenth century, which provides insight into early nineteenth century Germantown and Philadelphia culture and society. These often long letters lend insight into all aspect of nineteenth century life, including politics, courtship, friendship, family, and manners. Poetry of Elizabeth, Sarah, and Charles Wister is included, as are daybooks and journals of Sarah.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.974.811.Ea7 | | | | Extent: | 3.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Business and Skilled Trades | Land and Speculation | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | Social Life and Custom | Surveying and Maps | Women's History | | | | Genre: | Diaries | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Literature | Maps and Surveys | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Agriculture -- United States. | Bees. | Gardening -- United States. | |
| 35 | Author: | Cassin, Charles Luke, 1846-1878 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Charles Luke Cassin papers, 1745-1878
| | | | Dates: | 1745-1878 | | | | Abstract: | The Cassin Collection is heavily focused on Charles Luke Cassin's correspondence in the late nineteenth century. Charles Cassin was a physician in the U.S. Navy in the late-nineteenth century. His family's roots date to the colonial era. There are approximately seven documents from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, however. This portion of the collection includes three legal documents from colonial Pennsylvania that were likely handed down through the family: one is a will for Aaron Thompson dated 1745, another is an indenture from 1758, and another is a copy of a court decision in Berks County in 1774. There are two letters from James Mullins to Eliza Cassin relating to their past affairs and children. Finally, there are official documents relating to Joseph Cassin, Charles Luke's father, including a commission in the U.S. Navy signed by James Madison.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.C274 | | | | Extent: | 70 item(s) | | | | Topics: | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | Legal Records | Military Records | Official Government Documents and Records | | | | Subjects: | Medicine -- United States. | Trust indentures. | |
| 36 | Author: | Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | William Temple Franklin Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1775-1819 | | | | Abstract: | This is a large collection of William Temple Franklin papers, most of which were written while he was serving alongside his grandfather in France as the secretary of the American mission there. The bulk of the collection is correspondence written to William Temple Franklin during the American Revolution. Franklin had a wide network of friends and associates, and this correspondence captures the range of dealings Franklin had in France. As secretary, he received intelligence, requests, reports of military actions, especially those pertaining to naval actions in the Atlantic, and various other communications. As a private individual, Franklin had relations with many merchants, traders, and land speculators and continued to cultivate these relationships while in Europe. The Collection also includes a diary kept in an almanac for much of 1785, catalogued separately in MOLE.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F86 | | | | Extent: | 4.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Political Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Balloons -- Early works to 1800 | Mesmerism | |
| 38 | Author: | LeConte, John L. (John Lawrence), 1825-1883 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | John L. (John Lawrence) LeConte papers, 1812-1897
| | | | Dates: | 1812-1897 | | | | Abstract: | Summary(s) of Collection:
The John Lawrence LeConte Collection contains a vast array of material. John Lawrence LeConte, son of John Eatton LeConte, was a scientist whose interests, like his father's, were in natural history, especially entomology. Like his father, J.L. LeConte undertook many scientific expeditions, primarily to the Midwest region. He is known as the "father of American beetle study" because of his entomological work. With over 1,900 documents, the collection touches on a wide range of scientific topics and includes correspondence from many of the most prominent scientists and citizens of the day. The vast majority of the scientific discussions – indeed the vast majority of the collection in general – deals with entomology. The LeConte's were both active in many scientific institutions, many based in Philadelphia, and the history of these institutions can also be gleaned from some of their correspondence.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.L493 | | | | Extent: | 7.7 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Education | Exploration. | Medicine | Science and technology | | | | Genre: | Educational Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Miscellaneous | Notebooks | Scientific Data | Sketchbooks | | | | Subjects: | Entomology -- Europe. | Entomology -- United States. | Hospitals -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865. | Insects. | Medicine -- United States -- History -- 19th century. | Natural history -- United States. | |
| 39 | Author: | Lesley, J. P. (J. Peter), 1819-1903 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | J.P. Lesley Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1826-1898 | | | | Abstract: | J.P. Lesley was a prominent Pennsylvanian who became a leading geologist. This collection contains a range of materials that relate to his life. The content of the correspondence is not just scientific. Instead, subjects span a wide-range of topics, including European travel, the Civil War, politics, art, literature, personal affairs, and family matters. The papers also reflect Lesley wide-ranging scientific interests. Although a geologist, Lesley also dabbled in demographic studies, religion, and philology. A fair amount of the collection is from the 1850s and beyond. Much of this early correspondence is among family members, but some letters are from prominent reformers, such as Lydia Maria Child. Among the Lesley papers are poems, journals, and notebooks. Two boxes date from 1841 to 1851, which, notably, deal with the period before Lesley became a full-time geologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.L56 | | | | Extent: | 7.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | International Travel | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Literature | Scientific Data | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Avesta | Cartography. | Charities -- United States. | Education -- United States | Egyptian language -- Writing, Hieroglyphic | France -- Description and travel | Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Egypt | Geological Survey of Pennsylvania | Geology -- Maps | Geology -- Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Geology -- Pennsylvania | Germany -- Description and travel | Hawaiian language | Javanese language | Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Obelisks | Paleontology -- Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania -- Surveys | Philology | Poems | Slavery -- United States. | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Switzerland -- Description and travel | Transcendentalism | Unitarianism | |
| 40 | Author: | Vaux, George, V, 1721-1803 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Vaux Family Papers, 1690-1996
| | | | Dates: | 1690-1996 | | | | Abstract: | The George Vaux Papers is a massive collection which is focused on the business and financial interests of a prominent Philadelphia family. What follows is a list of some of the more notable parts of this expansive collection:
- Correspondence: There is a massive amount of correspondence, much of which is personal and familial in nature. Nonetheless, the letters often discuss politics, current affairs, and society. The earliest records date to 1701, although the great bulk are focused on the revolutionary era to the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
- Almanacs, 1790-1870: The collection contains a large collection of small pocket almanacs from Philadelphia. Some of the earliest ones contain records of financial transactions and diaries.
- Charles Thomson Correspondence: The collection has a series of letters from Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Continental Congress. These letters are from the 1780s, after Thomson had largely retired from the political arena.
- Legal and Estate Documents: This portion of the collection is extensive and difficult to summarize. The family owned a huge amount of property throughout the state. These papers contain deeds, information on rents, surveys of land, and other transactions. Moreover, the Vaux family had ties through marriage and friendship to other prominent families, and some of their estate business is included in this collection. Among the notable papers are documents pertaining to John and Sally Norris Dickinson's properties and the estates of the Emlens and the Sansoms. One document complements the Jane Aitken Collection, as it has an accounting of the Bible that she printed.
- Travel Accounts: Most notably, George Vaux VII made a trip to "Indian Country" in 1802-1803. He wrote numerous letters home and kept a small and incomplete travel journal.
- Philadelphia City Affairs: The Vaux were active in civic life. The collection contains information on city improvements, with specific letters and records relating to the water supply. The collection has letters that discuss building the Water Works, records of a Committee on the Sewers, and an agreement between the city and Peale's Museum.
- Business Affairs: The record of the Vaux's diverse business interests is contained in this collection. In addition to their land holdings, the Vaux's were very active in internal improvements, with records from numerous navigation companies held in the collection. The Vaux's were also involved in mining and mineralogy, including Pennsylvania's oil lands, which is also reflected in the content of this collection. Finally, there are partial records of some prominent Philadelphia institutions, such as the Bank of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Contributorship.
- Native American Documents - In addition to George Vaux's travels into Indian Country, there are extracts from Indian Treaties and some records of the Friendly Association in this collection.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.Ms.Coll.73 | | | | Extent: | 150 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | African American | American Revolution | Antebellum Politics | Early National Politics | Marriage and Family Life | Native America | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | Surveying and Maps | Travel | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Institutional Records | Legal Records | Maps and Surveys | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Genealogy. | Land speculation | Mineralogy. | Quaker businesspeople | Quakers -- Missions. | Seneca Indians | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Yellow fever. | |
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